STEVENS POINT – Emily Luetschwager, Lily Firkus and Miranda DeBot couldn't have asked for a much better start to their 2014 tennis seasons.

All three Stevens Point Area Senior High singles players can call themselves champions after rolling through three matches to claim singles titles at the Panthers Invitational on Wednesday.

Luetschwager, Firkus and DeBot, who won titles at No. 1 through 3 singles, respectively, are hoping to be called champions again at the end of the season, winning their flight at the Wisconsin Valley Conference meet, or better yet in the WIAA postseason series.

"Last year I played at No. 2 singles and finished third (in this tournament), and this year I was hoping to improve, and I did that," said Firkus, who defeated Onalaska's Taylor Garves 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the finals.

After taking the first set, Firkus needed to rally from a 5-3 hole in the next set to force a tie-breaker and claim the championship.

"I was waiting for an opening with a short ball so I could put the point away," Firkus said. "I used to play four-hour matches, and I've worked on coming to the net more to put the ball away and end the points sooner."

Luetschwager made short work off her three opponents, dropping just three games total in the six sets, including a 6-1, 6-1 win over Onalaska's Shannyn Waltz in the title match. DeBot handled Veronica Johnson of Onalaska 6-3, 6-0 for the title.

The Panthers' success wasn't limited to singles either.

Kayla Stutesman and Madison DeBot teamed up to secure a title at No. 2 doubles with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over De Pere's Maria Mihailescu and Cristina Villalouvas.

Not a bad performance considering DeBot and Stutesman were getting their first taste of doubles competition after competing in singles last season.

Being crowned champions of their opening home tournament is something that has escaped the Panthers over the past decade.

SP 0820 Tennis_2.jpg SPASH's Jaide Barber returns a backhanded shot while her partner Juliet Champion watches at the net against Appleton East in the #1 doubles match at the SPASH Tennis Invite Wednesday in Stevens Point. Photo by Thomas Kujawski/FOR STEVENS POINT JOURNAL MEDIA(Photo: TOM KUJAWSKI)

SPASH finally put an end to that drought in convincing fashion.

"We really wanted to win this meet, and I thought we had a good shot to do it," said SPASH coach Gary Baier, who had yet to experience a home invitational title in his five previous seasons at the helm.

"(Winning the top three singles titles) was awesome because we're talking about freshman (DeBot), sophomore (Luetschwager) and junior (Firkus) in those spots, so that bodes well for the future."

Wausau West and Newman Catholic were also on hand for the tournament attempting to get a glimpse of what the present and future might hold this season.

Warriors coach Steve Wenninger saw some encouraging signs in a number of areas, including the performances turned in by Chelsea Spencer, Laura Folwarski and Megan Peterson, all of whom won a round at the No. 2 through 4 singles spots, respectively, despite being inexperienced at the varsity level.

Natalie Herold and Sydney Snoeyenbos also showed a lot of promise at No. 1 doubles for the Warriors.

"I thought our singles lineup showed some potential, our expectations were to get better through the day in singles and I think that happened," Wenninger said. "In doubles is where most of our experience is and where we hope do some damage down the road.

"At this point there are a lot more questions out there than answers. You want to see them play, see how they are as competitors and see how take coaching."

Newman Catholic won the SPASH tournament a year ago, but found the competition a little tougher this time around.

Madeline Luetner and Carly Maves turned in the best result for Newman Catholic, placing third at No. 1 doubles after securing a 6-0, 6-2 decision over Jaide Barber and Juliet Champion of SPASH.

In addition, freshman Laura Larrain opened her varsity career with a fourth-place showing at No. 1 singles.

"Today was just a day to see where the girls were at," first-year Newman Catholic coach Christopher Heitz said. "For a lot of them this was their first match play (on varsity), and we wanted to see how they handled the added pressure. Most of them responded pretty well, and against quality opposition."